What is Domino?
Domino is a board game in which the goal is to score points by strategically placing dominoes on a table in such a manner that their ends touch each other and form a chain, or domino chain. A traditional European-style set of dominoes (also referred to as bones, cards, men or pieces) features each domino with a rectangular base and raised center area shaped like a square with four lines in it; its ends contain dots or pips indicating its value – three dots on either end being positive while four dots means negative.
When starting off a game of dominoes, one player places dominoes onto the table so their open ends meet the closed ends of another tile’s closed ends. A chain-like formation known as “layout or string” eventually develops over time as dominoes are strategically arranged – creating added enjoyment and challenge in this timeless classic!
Some games require playing a certain number of tiles for the winning player to get points, for instance in double-twelve or nine. Each player selects twelve or nine tiles from the stock at the beginning of play and this sum of dominoes in his/her hand at game’s end is added up as part of their score tally for scoring purposes.
One of the fascinating elements of domino is its effect of toppling dominoes one after another – or “The Domino Effect”, as its known. This phenomenon works similarly to nerve impulses in your body; even small amounts of force can tip over one domino and have an immense repercussion.
Once a domino falls, its potential energy is released in an explosive burst of rhythmic motion. Due to their high centers of gravity and relatively small surface area, dominoes don’t take much force to topple over.
Next, each domino in line must be carefully placed so as to match up with and extend the previous domino’s open end, before playing until your desired length has been reached. You can find full instructions for creating such a line under Line of Play on this website.
A game of domino can be enjoyed with any number of players ranging from two to a dozen or more, although its scoring system may differ between games. Some require all players to purchase every tile available while others count only those left in losers’ hands at the end of a hand or game and add those remaining to the winner’s score. Whatever method used, players should keep track of how many pips are in their hand at any point during gameplay.